Public Limited Company – PLC

We can incorporate a PLC for you with your own choice of name. The primary difference between Public Limited Company (PLC) and a Private Limited Company (Ltd) is the Public Company’s shares may be offered for sale to the public.

PLC Fees to Incorporate

Company Formation – £560
Registered Office Fee – £600
Company Secretary required – £1000

PLC Requirements

No residency requirements for the shareholders or directors
There must be a minimum of 2 directors
A director can be of any nationality
At least one shareholder
All companies must appoint a qualified Company Secretary
Share Capital of £50,000 of which 25% must be paid up
The company is required to have a Registered Office in the UK

Starting Trading as a PLC – Certificate to Commence Trading

A PLC must not begin business or exercise any borrowing powers until it has a certificate issued under Companies Act confirming that the company has an issued Share Capital of £50,000. We obtain this certificate from Companies House and once issued, the certificate is proof that the company is entitled to commence trading and borrow.

A PLC must have a minimum issued capital of £50,000. At least £12,500 of this must be fully paid up before the Registrar of Companies can issue a Certificate for Commencement of Trading. The certificate must be issued before your company commences any business transactions or borrowing, conduct business or exercise borrowing powers unless it has obtained a Trading Certificate from Companies House, confirming that it has the minimum allotted share capital.

Public Limited Companies

A public limited company must comply with the following:

It must state that it is a public limited company in its company name.
The memorandum must contain a clause stating that it is a public limited company and the name must end with PLC
It must have an issued share capital of at least £50,000 of which 25% must be paid up.

Advantage of a Public Company

A PLC has access to capital markets and can offer its shares for sale to the public and can also place advertisements offering its securities for sale to the public.

The prestige of having “PLC” at the end of your company name is substantial.

Access to capital markets
Increased status because of the larger capital base
Limited liability for shareholders
Heightened public profile
Incentive and rewards for employees – by the use of share options
Increasing the company’s ability to make acquisitions – its shares can be used as currency
Enhanced status with customers and suppliers
Any nationality can be a director or shareholder

We have PLC’s available immediately, fully inclusive of all necessary documentation. In addition we have 50+ aged shelf companies up to 20 years old, which can be converted to PLC.

Access to Capital

Your public company can raise capital for growth
Listing of shares provides a broader equity base for your company
Offering shares to the public means your company can attract more funding
Liquidity is created for investors and provides them the option to trade their shares
Your company can create a market for its shares by being public, the shares will thus have a market value and can be traded

Company Secretarial Services

Every public limited company must have a qualified or experienced Company Secretary. We will provide your PLC with Company Secretarial services to ensure that the statutory requirements are fulfilled, and with good governance, remains in good standing and compliant with UK law.

We provide a company secretarial service to ensure that important statutory requirements are fulfilled, including the filing of the confirmation statement (annual returns) and accounts.

As your company secretary our duties will include:

Maintaining the register of directors and secretary
Issuing share certificates and recording transfers of shares
Maintaining the register of shareholders and debenture holders
Arranging for charges to be registered and recorded in the register of charges
Filing of documents at the Companies Registration Office including changes of registered office, changes of directors and/or secretary

As your company secretary we can also offer the preparation and submission of the confirmation statement , where necessary, showing the details of the directors, secretary, shareholders and any share transfers that occurred during the previous year.

Administrative Duties

Keeping, and making available for inspection, the company’s registers on behalf of the directors, including the:
Register of member
Register of directors’ and secretary’s interests
Ensuring that documents are filed with the Registrar of Companies within the prescribed time limits such as the company’s annual and other returns

Maintaining Statutory Registers

As your company secretary we can maintain your statutory registers which include:

The register of members – unless external Registrar is used
The register of directors and secretaries
The register of directors’ interests
The register of charges

Registered Office

We will make our UK address available as the Registered Office of your PLC. Inland Revenue and the Registrar of Companies official documents will be served at the Registered Office.

UK Tax Agent

We will obtain a Corporation Tax Inland Revenue Tax ID for your company.

Use of UK Company Secretaries Ltd (our subsidiary) as your UK Tax Agent.

We will then deal with all your company tax correspondence with the H M Revenue & Customs.

The HMRC will then correspond direct with you and UK Company Secretaries Ltd regarding all of the taxation affairs of your company
We will deal with the initial registration forms received from H M Revenue & Customs upon incorporation
We will advise you and submit your companies annual Corporation Tax return

Confirmation Statement

The Confirmation Statement contains information about your company’s directors, company secretary, registered office address, shareholders and share capital. To ensure that your company remains in good standing we will advise when your Confirmation Statement is due.

Your Confirmation Statement will contain:

Name of your Company
Registered Number
Principal Business Activity of the Company
Date to which the Confirmation Statement is made-up to
Registered Office Address of the Company
Details of the Company Secretary
Details of all the Company Directors who served during the year
The Single Alternative Inspection Location (SAIL), is an alternative address to the Company’s Registered Office where companies shareholder records can be kept and made available for inspection

Company Directors

As company secretary we can deal with the notifications to the UK registry concerning the appointments and terminations of the company directors as notified to us through written and signed resolutions.

PROtected Online Filing Scheme – PROOF

We will apply for a government authentication code for your PLC so we can file documents electronically with Companies House. It is an online filing service, it enables companies to protect themselves from unauthorised changes to their company’s record. These include documents for an appointment, termination or change of particulars of the company directors and persons of significant control.

Service Addresses for Directors of your PLC

We offer a service address facility which protects the privacy of your director’s home addresses.

Directors of your company can use our address as the service address for the purposes of public records and for official documents to be served.

This facility will:

Protect privacy of your director’s home address
Achieve a greater degree of separation between work and home
Preserve independence from the company, particularly important for directors given correspondence they might receive from shareholders or investors on confidential matters
Make better use of a director’s time as, unless requested otherwise, we will filter correspondence received and only forward official correspondence
Ensure matters are dealt with in a timely fashion, when official documents are formally served at our office, we will ensure they are forwarded confidentially without delay